For 127 days I greeted Mom in the morning, sang Barges at night and recited the Lord’s Prayer. She lay in her hospital bed, dining room table pushed to the wall, chandelier cabled close to the ceiling. Most nights she joined me in phrases as we sang about barges flickering lights, resurrecting distant memories for … Continue reading 127 nights to treasure forever
grief
February 14 anniversary memories
For much of my life February 14 meant Valentine's Day. During childhood we would cover shoeboxes with construction paper and red hearts, cut a slit on top and arrive at school armed with the box and valentines for each kid in the class, our bellies primed for chocolate and sugar. (Except the day I had … Continue reading February 14 anniversary memories
Love letters
June 10, 1955, Piedmont Presbyterian Church, Portland. Esther Holmes Daum, Merrill Daum, Patricia Daum, Richard Gill Montgomery, Jr., Dorothy Haradon Montgomery, Richard Gill Montgomery, Sr. I was updating Mom's new social worker a bit about her life the other day. He wanted to know the important details, and soon agreed the part about Mom and … Continue reading Love letters
Music is the one thing
Thank you to Portland Youth Philharmonic for sharing music to be enjoyed by all. A partial remedy to the absence of live music during the pandemic is the potpourri of livesteamed opportunities. A silver lining for us, Mom would not be getting out to any of them even in the absence of a pandemic, nor … Continue reading Music is the one thing
A typewriter click-clacks forever
Dad graduated from University of Oregon's journalism program and was considered more useful as a PIO than in the infantry while based at Fort Lewis. One would think I've written enough about typewriters. After all, not only do I share memories of Dad's click-clacking away in My Music Man, but even after that I featured … Continue reading A typewriter click-clacks forever
The gift of imagination
A most favorite pastime of mine during the pandemic days of summer and fall, splattering into the wetter and colder days of winter, is watching kids outside: carrying on as life was before, not even bothered by mask requirements. This has given me great hope. Imagination is both a remedy and an ally during good … Continue reading The gift of imagination
Forcing holiday joy
For several decades I have faithfully planted a dozen or two Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs shortly after Thanksgiving, patiently awaiting the arrival of their white blossoms and heady fragrance. This was not a tradition I grew up with and I’m not sure what or who inspired me to begin it, but now it is as much … Continue reading Forcing holiday joy
Overdue, rediscovered
My family treasures library books. In My Music Man I wrote about how, as our family prepared to evacuate our Eastern Oregon LaGrande home because of a 1972 wildfire, Mom insisted we gather the library books hiding in the crevices of our home together with cherished family photo albums. (Okay, there was that one other … Continue reading Overdue, rediscovered
A tribute to Clackamas County
This is the first week in awhile I haven't been able to distract myself from all that is going on to continue to focus on my Work in Progress. Most days, even with COVID-19, I get to my day job stuff early in the morning so to try to leave some brain space for late … Continue reading A tribute to Clackamas County
Grief: from journal to blog to memoir and back again
I have often felt I write "best" when I am sad. This feels like an odd thing to share, and it isn't to say that I don't enjoy writing about humorous or light topics. I have been thinking a lot about grief lately. I've been feeling it too, like so many of us at this … Continue reading Grief: from journal to blog to memoir and back again
